Electronics devices are becoming increasingly integrated with optical systems. This has given rise to the need to integrate electronics and optics together into printed circuit board systems. Currently, this integration is somewhat awkward.
Although printed circuit wiring is a fairly mature technology, the mixing of printed circuit wiring with optical conduction paths is still at an awkward stage of development. Additionally, the connectors for interfacing optical conduction paths on circuit boards with fibers off-board is still a challenge. Specifically, aligning the off-board optical fibers with the connectors on the board remains a reliability problem.
Thus, what is needed is a printed circuit board configuration that reliably integrates electrical conduction with optic conduction, including stable optical connectors.